The Redskins Blog

A Look At How Your Redskins Were Built

Earlier in the offseason, we wrote a blog post about how last year’s team embodied Team, Effort, and Tradition and the role that head coach Mike Shanahan has played in bringing in his mix of guys.

Coach Shanahan is entering his fourth season with the team and, although it’s been a process, he has been able to revamp the roster that was in place prior to his arrival in Washington. Only nine players remain from the previous regime. In fact, 65 of the 74 players currently on the roster are ‘Shanahan’s guys’ and with the April draft approaching fast that number is only expected to increase.

The roster changes, however, should not be viewed necessarily as a rebuilding effort, yet instead viewed as part of a bigger evaluation process in an attempt to build a team consisting of humble, hardworking, character guys.

After all, health and stability is the key to pass defense, offensive success and consistency on the field. Below is a breakdown of how the roster was built, including the 21 of 22 starters that the Redskins were able to retain from the 2012 NFC East Championship roster.

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UPDATE: Redskins Mock Draft Tracker

The Redskins made a splash yesterday re-signing six of their pending free agents and, arguably, some of the team’s key core players to help build off of last year’s NFC East Championship. The team also announced the signing of veteran free agent offensive tackle Tony Pashos (former Cleveland Brown) in addition to announcing that they had released CB DeAngelo Hall.

According to coach Mike Shanahan, yesterday’s roster moves helped the team get back under the salary cap and in position to meet the league-mandated cap requirements prior to the start of free agency today at 4pm. But despite the moves, it doesn’t appear that the team will have enough wiggle room to be a major player in free agency.

It’s possible that front office has something up their sleeves but the most likely scenario is that the team will turn their attention to the draft to help fill certain needs.

Keep in mind that a lot can happen between now and April and, yet again, consensus among the mock drafts below seems to be that the Redskins will lean toward drafting secondary.

Thought remains that this year’s draft class is secondary-laden and that there should be some intriguing prospects at number fifty-one, including some that may peak your interest as draft weekend approaches. So let’s go ahead and take a look at our updated Mock Draft Tracker and a few players that some of the experts think the Redskins should pursue.

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Redskins Social Media Weekly Spotlight

Welcome to your weekly Redskins Social Media Spotlight, where we highlight the trendy topics and social media campaigns going on this week in Redskins Nation. Check it out and make suggestions below.

Last week’s Social Media Weekly Spotlight covered WR Niles Paul and his former Nebraska Cornhusker teammates doing the Harlem Shake, NT Chris Baker’s plea for 10k Twitter followers as well as a mural from Washington D.C.’s own WR Joshua Morgan.

Admittedly so, most people probably don’t get as far as clicking the link to read these weekly social media updates. Contrarily, some of you may be reading this and say, ‘Who cares about the Redskins Social Media Weekly Spotlight?’ To that, we say that it’s time to start taking social media seriously.

Fact of the matter is that social media has rapidly integrated itself into our everyday lives.

For those of you who continue to read, here’s a look at K Kai Forbath and LB Ryan Kerrigan as they hit the links, QB Robert Griffin III’s return to Baylor, LB London Fletcher‘s preparation for season 16 and G Chris Chester‘s odd, and forgettable, experience at his local gym.

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USA Today Names Its Free Agent Winners

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And the Redskins are one of the teams listed.

The USA Today singles out 15 teams as either winners or losers after two weeks of free agency, and the Redskins have landed on the right side of the equation.  Most free agent power rankings are picked clean at this point, so where the Redskins sit is roughly how they’ll be judged for this free agent class.

For the second consecutive year, the Redskins have been looked to as big players in free agency, but have showed savvy restraint by avoiding the big-name, high-risk personalities.  While fans have been forced to learn the names of underrated free agents (i.e. Stephen Bowen, Joshua Morgan), the results have shown that “calculated” is the new offseason motto in Washington.

Here’s what the USA Today’s Nate Davis said about the Redskins shopping list in 2012: Read more »

Start To Free Agency Graded A Success

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In the history of the Redskins franchise, the team has been wryly crowned ‘the offseason champions’ many times for its expenditures in free agency.  We don’t need to revisit those.

But those days appear to be a thing of the past, as the Redskins–for the second-consecutive year–are earning high praise for their measured additions in free agency.

Even while preparing for an unexpectedly amended salary cap number, the Redskins have managed to add quality talent on both sides of the board, earning praise from industry gurus.

ESPN NFL expert John Clayton named the Redskins among his three winners after the first three days of free agency.  Coming at it from a fiscal responsibility angle, here’s what he had to say: Read more »

Where The Redskins Stand In Free Agency

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What The Team Accomplished So Far:

In Day One, the team focused primarily on adding offensive weapons at the receiver position.  The Redskins locked up two quality weapons, as Kyle and Mike Shanahan continue to makeover the roster with the pieces they want.

Now the emphasis in the market seems to have shifted to the defensive side of the ball with the signing of Pro Bowl safety Brandon Meriweather.

Whether it’s playing up close to the line as a run enforcer, or playing centerfield against the pass, Meriweather classified himself as a playmaker, and his numbers support it.  He was brought in with the opportunity to rebuild his young career after a disappointing 2011 that saw him cut and used incorrectly by the Chicago Bears.

In Jim Haslett’s defense, he should be given the freedom and opportunity to make the plays that made him a top safety in the NFL in 2009 and ’10. Read more »

Bowen Welcomes Offensive Upgrades

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Redskins defensive end Stephen Bowen made the unfortunate mistake of venturing outside during free agency.  He’s a brave man.

As you well know, outside of your house is where reporters are.  When something happens to your team, those reporters turn to you for comment.  Ready, set, sound byte!

But Bowen played the comment game well on Tuesday night, when asked for his thoughts on Pierre Garçon becoming the newest member of the Redskins.

Insert praise, give yourself an out if the report is wrong, and welcome him to town with open arms (via CSN Washington): Read more »

Free Agency: Who’s Here, Who’s There?

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What The Team Accomplished So Far:

The Redskins came into the offseason with a wishlist of needs, part of which they can address in free agency, part of which will be addressed in the draft, and part of which will be addressed through rehab and players getting healthy.

For a passing game that ranked 14th in the NFL last year in yards per game, the Redskins found two receivers in Pierre Garçon and Joshua Morgan that can stretch the field and fight for the extra yard.  It looks like the Redskins will have a fierce training camp battle for receiver again this year, as there are currently 10 receivers on the roster.

I wouldn’t presume that this will be the list of receivers that the team enters camp with, as that’s still four and a-half months away, but the team has displayed an aggressive approach to upgrade the aerial attack.

Here’s what industry expert Peter King tweeted about the moves: Read more »

What 4 p.m. EDT Means For Redskins Fans

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And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the start of the 2012 NFL League Year.

Farewell 2011, and all of your troubles–we never liked you that much anyway.  Sure, some good things happened in 2011, especially the infusion of youth and fresh faces on a roster that badly needed new blood.

The results weren’t what the team was looking for, but the process was well underway towards a brighter future.

And when the clock strikes 4 p.m., that future will be ushered in.  In no particular order, here is your guide to bright and shiny things that will magically appear:

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Fletcher Embraces Opportunity To Mentor

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As the clock ticks down to the start of free agency, Redskins linebacker London Fletcher sat down with Sirius XM NFL Radio hosts Alex Marvez and Bill Polian to discuss his plans for next season.

While it has been widely circulated that the Redskins wish to retain their captain and he has an interest in returning, he also left open the possibility of his departure.  If he remains unsigned at the start of free agency on March 13, he is free to pursue any options.

Regardless of where he goes, he said that he welcomes to opportunity to be a mentor to the next generation of teammates.  For him, it’s a natural progression as a professional that was instilled at him early in his career: Read more »